Cold season is here!
It’s that time of year again…cold season 🙁 I’ve managed to pick up a little bit of a bug so I’ve just been resting a lot. I don’t think I have slept so much since I was a kid. But, as they say, sleep is the best remedy.
Other than just sleeping, I have been fairly busy. This past week, I celebrated American Thanksgiving with Kendal. We made dinner for some of our friends, but like typical young girls, we started cooking/baking an hour before our guests arrived and I still had to shower from the stables. Long story short, we got it all together. Kendal made typical southern dishes. It was all delish! We made breaded potatoes that she then fried…very, very yummy!!!
Vitall and I have gone back to basics and working on really having him over the body and basic transitions and riding our lines without actually doing the movements, but making transitions on those lines so that Vitall is adjustable at all times. Next Friday, we have another practice show in Uden to just keep in the flow of test riding. I’m planning to ride the Inter 2 again.
I was reading some very interesting articles on Euro Dressage the other day. Here are the links. If you haven’t had a chance to read them, I think it brings some good insight into the horsey/dressage world.
http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2011/11/26/alice-collins-dressage-dilemmas
http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2011/11/26/interactive-components-horse-rider-partnership
In the second article – interactive components of horse-rider partnerships – I can relate to this article about what they’re saying in regards to anxiety and heart rate. I have learned and mentioned before in previous blogs about diaphragmatic breathing and I have now taking that to my horse. A few times a week, I stand with him putting my hand on his chest and try and sync up our breathing. This may sound silly to some, but it really works. I have noticed a big change between my connection with Vitall. I notice the second I get a bit stressed I hold him a bit more and he gets tense and now I just relax and slow my breathing and he relaxes. I notice these changes the most in the walk that is where Vitall tends to get the most tense, so when we are walking I make sure I am relaxed and put my own mental state to a place, for example, that we are out walking in the park. In doing this Vitall’s walk has been completely normal.
If a horse can feel a simple little fly on his skin, that proves to us how sensitive they actually are and how easy they feel what we are feeling.
Less than a month ‘til CHRISTMAS!!!!! and 22 days till I go home for a visit!!!!
